Lyon

Lyon Taxi Prestige

Lyon Taxi Prestige, for the regular cost of a taxi, provide high level taxi service in Lyon and everywhere in France. Executive and VIP Service with personal welcome at Lyon Airports and Train stations. City tours. Ski resort transfers, free Wifi on board.

Taxi-Radio

Allo Taxi

 

Taxis are quite pricey. The fares are fixed by the authorities: €2 when you board, then per km: €1.34 daytime, 7AM-7PM or €2.02 night, Sundays, holidays. The driver may charge a minimum of €6 for any trip. There are also a number of possible extra charges: €1.41 for the 4th passenger, €0.91 per animal or large piece of luggage, €1.41 for a pickup at a train station or airport.

Taxis cannot be hailed on the street; you need to go to a taxi station or to call for one. The major taxi companies are:

By public transport

Lyon's public transportation system, known as TCL (http://www.tcl.fr/), is regarded as one of the most efficient in the country. Central areas are very well served; so are the campuses and eastern suburbs, where many jobs are concentrated. The western suburbs are more residential and can be difficult to reach. As everywhere in France, the network can be perturbed by strikes from time to time.

There are four metro subway lines A to D. The first line of the network was line... C in 1974 lines A and B were already planned but line C took less time to complete because it used an existing funicular tunnel. Line A opened in 1978. Trains generally run every 2 to 10 minutes, depending on the line and the time. Information screens above the platforms display the waiting times for the next two trains and useful information such as delays, upcoming closures, etc.

Line A

red, Perrache - Vaulx-en-Velin La Soie serves Presqu'île, the neighbourhoods around Parc de la Tête d'Or and then runs under Cours Emile Zola, Villeurbanne's main artery. The last two stops Laurent Bonnevay and Vaulx La Soie provide numerous connections with buses to the eastern suburbs. Line A connects with line D at Bellecour, line C at Hôtel de Ville, line B at Charpennes, tram lines T1 and T2 at Perrache and T3 at Vaulx La Soie. It is very busy during rush hours, especially between Bellecour and Hôtel de Ville.

Line B

blue, Charpennes - Stade de Gerland serves most notably Part Dieu station and Gerland stadium. It connects with line A at Charpennes and line D at Saxe-Gambetta.

Line C

yellow, Hôtel de Ville - Cuire uses a short cog railway and serves the Croix-Rousse hill. Due to the configuration of the infrastructure, the frequencies are not very good.

Line D

green, Gare de Vaise - Gare de Vénissieux, the busiest of the four lines, is entirely automated; this allows good frequency in off-peak hours, especially at night and on Sundays. There are many bus connections to the suburbs at Gare de Vaise, Gorge de Loup, Grange Blanche, Parilly and Gare de Vénissieux.

The metro is generally reliable, clean and comfortable. Besides the classical metro, two funiculars run from Vieux Lyon metro station to Saint-Just and Fourvière respectively.

There are also four tram lines T1 to T4. They are not very interesting if you stay within the city centre; they are most useful to reach campuses and suburban areas.

With more than 100 bus lines, you should be able to go virtually anywhere reasonably far away from the centre. Some of them use trolley electric buses; Lyon is one of the few cities in France which still use this system. There are two special bus lines: C1 and C3, where you will find big articulated trolley buses which run very frequently. These are sometimes referred to as Cristalis actually the brand name of the vehicles but people do not really use, or even know about this name.

Metros and trams run approximately from 5AM to midnight. Some bus lines do not run after 9PM. Check the TCL website for details.

Maps can be found online:

Simple map: (http://tcl.fr/documents/p...)

Detailed map: (http://tcl.fr/documents/p...). You can ask for a copy of this one in the main metro stations.

The prices are: €1.60 for a single journey valid for 1 hour after the first use on buses, trams, metro and funiculars, unlimited number of transfers, no return, €4.90 for a daily pass. Tickets can be purchased from electronic kiosks located at the stations, but it is important to note that they do not accept paper money only coins and foreign credit cards are likely to be rejected. Tobacco shops and newsagents showing a "TCL" sign also sell tickets. Single tickets can be purchased from bus drivers but the price is €2 in that case. Group tickets are available from the tourist office.

By car

Traffic is dense, parking is either very difficult or quite expensive, and there are quite few directional signs. Avoid driving within the city if you can. For the city center, look for signs reading "Presqu'île". In the Presqu'île and other central neighbourhoods, it is strongly advised not to park in 'prohibited parking' areas; you could be towed. Tickets for unpaid parking are also commonplace; a specific brigade of the city police is in charge of checking parking payments in the city centre. The penalty for unpaid parking is €11 you might get several tickets in the same day in central neighbourhoods; the penalty for parking in a prohibited area is €35. If you park in a dangerous place e.g., you block an emergency exit, the fine can be up to €135.

The minimum age to rent a car is 21 and an additional charge may be required for drivers under 25 years old. Major rental companies have offices at Part-Dieu and Perrache railway stations, and at the airport. Best to hire from Part-Dieu, as the subsequent navigation is much easier.

On foot

The city centre is not so big and most attractions can be reached from each other on foot. The walk from Place des Terreaux to Place Bellecour, for example, is about 20 min. The rule of thumb is that metro stations are generally about 10 min walk apart.

Be careful when crossing major axes: traffic is dense and running red lights is a very popular sport.

You can also visit Lyon in footing. Jogg'in City offers several sightjogging tours of Lyon. (http://www.joggincity.fr)